The Exploits of Kentake Hoshiro
by AcesOfInfinity
Summary: Kentake Hoshiro, new generation genius of the Shinigami Academy. Promoted right away to the Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division, how will he fare in this crowd of battle-crazed maniacs?
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

**The warm water of the shower splashed down my body, leaving a transparent trail as it moves down my body. I turned off the tap and got out of the bath, drying myself. Wrapping the towel around my waist I walked out of the shower into my quarters. The smell of scented and new rosewood assaulted me, overcoming the dominant smell of shampoo that was flooding in from the bathroom. What I expected wasn't this one person room, but the one I shared with my old classmates. Our time in the academy just sped past us in a blur. We used to dread being in the academy, but now, we dreaded leaving each other. Shaking my head, I shook these thoughts out of my mind as I reached out for my uniform. Again, I was shocked. Instead of the old white and blue robe I was expecting there was a black robe trimmed with white in its place. **

**In a few minutes I was already walking down the corridors, uncomfortable in my new uniform. My zanpakuto (A weapon that we Shinigami use, usually coming in the form of a Katana) hung loosely from the white sash tying my robes together. Even then the front of my shirt was slightly opened, revealing an extremely muscled chest underneath. Another thing I was uncomfortable about was the crest located on my shoulder. The number "11" was imprinted on it, and it represented the division he was in. Eleventh. A group of battle-crazed maniacs, they were seen as the rowdiest party animals in the whole of Soul Society! His specialization in the way of the sword had earned him a place in this division, and he feared the consequences. Would he survive this division? He feared his demise. It was ironic, really. Shinigami, the Death Gods, being afraid of death? Furthermore, he feared being shunned by the members of the division. The 11****th**** was a Division infamous for their lust for fighting and specialization in the usage of melee weapons. No one knew about this yet, but I have made contact with the spirit within the blade. Perhaps it was natural affinity, perhaps it was due to our love and passion for music, I don't know. My Initial Release was definitely not the physical one. When I had heard the first few notes of music playing, I knew my hopes of attaining a melee release was dashed.**

**Running a hand through my blonde hair, I rapped my knuckles sharply on the door. There were sounds of music reverberating from the inside of the room, and the loud shouts of various rowdy shinigami. I gulped. Was I prepared to meet my new division members? The door opened, and a bald shinigami stood in the way. He had a wooden sword resting against his shoulder, and a flask of sake in his other hand. "Who're you?" the man had asked lazily. Of course I knew who he is. Ikkaku Madarame, 3****rd**** Seat of the 11****th**** Division. Madarame was a man famous throughout the whole of Soul Society for his bald head. Rumours were that he had attained his Final Release, though it was covered up, it was also speculated that it was due to his loyalty to the captain of the division that he had kept it hushed up. With the current lack of Captains, Madarame would most certainly be promoted if he revealed the existence of his Bankai. **

**Madarame's cheeks had a touch of pink to them. He was most probably half-drunk, like the rest of the people inside. Afraid of getting reprimanded on my first day, I snapped a quick salute and said in an even tone, "Kentake Hoshiro, 4****th**** Seat." Madarame tilted his head to the side, as if in deep thought before his eyes lit up, "Oh! That new guy we were told by old Yama that was joining us today. Come on, loosen up. Come on in and meet Captain Zaraki. After that you can get a drink." Confusion was apparent on my face as I entered the room, what the hell was up with this division? Turning around the corner I immediately felt a sharp pain across my cheek as a heavily-built man in black robes jumped at me with a broken glass bottle.**

"**WHAT THE FUCK?!" I shouted, placing a hand to the cut on my cheek, which was now bleeding quite badly. This was just absurd. Who the fuck gets attacked on their first day? I mean, who ever heard of a subordinate attacking their superiors on their first day? Opening my eyes I saw the heavily-built man again, and now I slowly took in his features, trying to ignore the piercing pain in my left cheek. His cheek were red, probably drunk, that's why he attacked. Hmph. Didn't matter. The man's arm was rearing back for another strike before I knew I had to make a move, before my head gets cracked open. My hand shot up, grabbing his wrist as it came down and with blinding speed my knee slammed into his stomach in a disabling strike. Clutching his gut the man collapsed to the floor, the wind knocked out of him.**

"**You gotta cool down, mate." I said indifferently to the man on the floor, walking past him with Madarame following behind, grinning smugly. Pandemonium filled the entire area, as shinigami of the 11****th**** Division drank from sake flasks and ran wild within the area. What shocked me wasn't the pandemonium, but the man I was about to meet. Standing nearly two and a half metres tall, his heavily-muscled chest was dominated by a multitude of scars, where a set of bandages were tied around his gut area, revealing only two packs. His hair was shaped into drooping spikes that hung around his face, and tied to each spike was a bell. On his face was an eyepatch, rumoured to be worn to eat away at his spiritual energy. Even then, the air was almost tangible with the amount of spiritual energy emanating from this man. His face was cracked in a feral grin and his arms crossed his chest as he looked at me from across the room. I tried to avert his gaze and walk away, pretending to get a drink but I felt strong hands grip onto my shoulders and push me towards him. "Comeon, don't be a coward. We ain't got space for cowards here. You'll get used to the spiritual pressure." The crowd parted unconsciously before me and Madarame as I was pushed towards the menacing captain of the 11****th**** Division.**

**The spiritual pressure increased with every step towards him, and I had to too increase mine, in case I get overwhelmed by his. "Ahh .. You must be Kentake." Kenpachi Zaraki spoke, in a deep drawl. "Y-y-yes, sir." I replied, my words seemed to get stuck in my throat. It wasn't anxiety or nervousness .. But rather, fear. The primal look in this man's eye kept creeping back into my mind. I knew I would have a few sleepless nights after this. "Don't stammer in front of me!" the man in front of me suddenly exploded, punching a fist through the wooden table that was infront of me. The hairs on my necks stood on end as the wooden table suddenly collapsed in front of me. Zaraki's anger faded as it came, as his face broke out in a wide smile, "Good. You didn't jump. Mark of a good 11****th**** Division-er. Welcome, boy." What the eff?! Wasn't I supposed to get introduced to the members of the division, get briefed with my duties and all that stuff? Well, I could only blame myself with my stupidity as I realized that I wasn't about to get a formal introduction when I heard the music. **

"**Run along, boy. Its time for me to sleep." The eccentric captain of the 11****th**** Division dismissed me with a hand, as a woman – Correction. Girl with a shock of pink hair leaped in front of me. "Ken-ken needs to sleep-sleep-sleep-sleep. So you, go away!" Placing her hands on my shoulders, she pushed me away with surprising strength towards the refreshments table. Madarame was already there, stacking his plate high with various delicacies. Tapping him on the shoulder with my finger, I asked loudly, making sure he could hear me over the entire din. "Whats up with this Division? And who's that pink-haired shortie?" to emphasize my point I point at the party, then at the pink-haired girl. I jumped when Madarame suddenly made a startled glance at the girl, before placing a finger to his lips. "SHHH! Don't let her hear you say that! She's Yachiru, Lieutenant aka Vice Captain of our Division. Don't be fooled by her appearance. Wait till she gets angry. Now get some drinks!" Slapping me in the shoulder with a friendly shove, he walked away to the gambling table as I was left alone at the table of refreshments.**

"**What the hell was up?" I said to myself, feeling rather stupid.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

**Giggles were heard everywhere as I walked down the corridor slowly. Yep, something embarrassing happened, as you would probably guess. At the party Ikkaku just had to goad me into drinking. Guess what happened? I drank. Drank, drank and drank. Drank till I was drunk. Then the embarrassing part happened. I happened to start climbing on the tables and dance around, taking off my clothing one by one. That nosy guy who I beat down before taped down the whole fucking event. Immediately it was sent to the 9****th**** Division and distributed throughout Soul Society. SOUL SOCIETY. GOD DAMMIT.**

**Overnight, fan clubs have sprung up all around the 13 Divisions. Fan clubs made of girls, and full of fan girl fluffiness. I hated that. Well, I was quite sure most of the fan clubs were just made to annoy the heck outta me, most probably by jealous shinigami. I didn't care. (If you haven't realized, that was an extremely obvious lie)**

**Now, back to business. It was the start of a new day and all, with me waking up early in the morning with a crazy hangover. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention? I drank with Ikkaku yesterday night to drown our, correction, MY sorrows. But yeah, the medicine from the 4****th**** Division is miraculous. Hangover was gone in less than five minutes, heck, I wasn't even done shaving yet!**

**Okay now. Seriously. Back to business. I was heading down to the Training Grounds, where Ikkaku had said that training was being held there today. I guess we had to train, sometimes. The days in the division had been pretty easy-going so far. My other friends were running up and down Soul Society passing memos and all, but all I've done these few days are going to the hot springs, reading those erotic doujins from the human world that I somehow love, ogling at girls on the sidewalks. Yeah, that's about it.**

**Ahah! I was here. The Training Grounds were large, really. The Official reason was that the 1****st**** Division wanted a large space for us to practice in, so we can jump around and do all sorts of stunts without breaking anything. But then, we all know that those guys over at the 1****st**** Division are a group of misers. They were already reluctant to give us a big plot of land, much less decorate? It was a simple, four walls place. Areas were marked out, similar to those things they called "Tennis Courts" over in the human world. Already there were shinigamis sparring, and the morning air was suddenly upset with the cacophony of clashing blades and the shouts of other shinigami, in an attempt to psyche out their opponents.**

"**Hey! You're here!" shouted a familiar voice, far to my left.**

**Turning my head, I acknowledged the familiar figure of my newly acquainted friend, Ikkaku Madarame. He was watching over a pair of shinigami practicing, his sword leaning against his shoulder. To others Ikkaku might seen as a careless man who's most likely to cut himself, but to the members of the 11****th**** we all know that he was a consummate warrior more than capable of holding his own in a fight 10 to 1.**

"**Cat gotcha tongue? Comeon, say something. Aint ya supposed to greet a friend?" Ikkaku said in his usual drawl as I walked over to him.**

"**Hello, baldy." I said with a smile, though it was larger than normal. The extra size for the small was so that he would understand that it was a joke. I wasn't above to get hacked to death on my third day of work. **

"**Ya'll be sparring me tahday." Ikkaku said in a controlled voice, as a vein pulsed in his forehead, while he closed his eyes attempting to purge his anger in a rather comical way.**

**Before I knew it, we were already standing in one of those drawn-out arenas that were used for sparring. My sword was already drawn and it hung loosely in my right hand. I could sense glances at my sword. Yes, I was different. Most of the zanpakutos came in the form of a katana, or a weapon with a Japanese-motif. Funnily enough my blade came in the form of an English broadsword. My blade's cross guard came in the form of a dragon's head, with the hilt being its neck. The blade of the broadsword extended from inside the dragon's mouth. The blade was carved with many symbols, with I was unable to decipher. Perhaps it was a good sign, perhaps it was bad. Anyway, I HATED THE ATTENTION!**

_ICHI!_

_NII!_

_SAN!_

_HAJIME!_

**I wasn't exactly paying attention to the commentator's shout, before I realized that Ikkaku was heading towards me. Like a raging bull. He had a head start on things, and I was immediately forced into a defensive. Swinging my blade quickly I managed to parry a few of his quick strikes coming from the katana he was holding, but then I felt a stinging pain in my side as he used his sheath to smack me. Ouch! Who the heck fights with both the sword and sheath? Well, Ikkaku, maybe, but not really anyone else.**

**My mind quickly processed the new set of information and it willed my body to adapt to the new information. Immediately I had my sash tied up around my hand. There wasn't any use of it, since we were fighting bare-chested. My robes lay in a mess just outside of the arena, and all both of us wore were a pair of pants to maintain some level of modesty.**

**Using my wrapped hand I gripped onto Ikkaku's blade sheath, pulling it away from him. The sudden force exerted sent him stumbling forwards. Using this moment of confusion to my advantage I clashed my blades with Ikkaku, twisting my blade around his, in an attempt to use my sword as a lever to wrench his katana out of his hands. **

**In my eagerness to end the fight I did not notice the playful grin on Ikkaku's face. When I finally noticed it, it was already too late. The distance between us was too short for me to make a quick attack with my sword, not to mention that it was tangled up in his. Also, the distance prevented me from flash-stepping away from his body, as there was a chance I would cut myself on his blade in my bid to escape.**

"**Oof!" was the only sound I let out throughout the fight, not counting the grunts of exertion.**

**Ikkaku's foot had found his way to my gut, and the sudden blow knocked all the wind out of me. It all happened so fast, that I had no time to react. It was followed up by a palm to the chest, driven forward with momentum from the stumbling. I found myself soaring through the air, the wind rushing in my ears as I managed to raise a hand towards Ikkaku. There was only one way I could possibly make the fight a draw, and I wasn't about to lose to Ikkaku, even if I was a rank lower than him.**

**In that short few seconds before I collided into the wall I could yell out three short sentences;**

"_**Carriage of Thunder!"**_

"_**Bridge of a spinning wheel!"**_

"_**With light, divide this into six!"**_

**I felt the spiritual power leave my body, as a small part of my reiatsu reserves ebbed away to fuel the spell. I had attempted a high-level spell, level 61, to be exact. It wasn't one that I had mastered, but it was enough to not allow something to break free from it by pure physical strength.**

**My body was a sore and stiff all over as I got up, after slamming into the concrete wall of the arena. Six beams of yellow light had been emitted from my finger tips simultaneously, and it had slammed into Ikkaku's midsection, holding him in place. The impact of the spell had too pushed him out of the arena boundary, leaving the fight at a draw. Oh, did I mention that if you stepped out of the boundary, you lost?**

**I stood up, holding a cut on my left shoulder, where an outcrop of rock from the wall had cut it via the friction. I snapped my fingers, and the six beams of light surrounding Ikkaku had vanished, putting a stop to his repeated swearing. **

"**Well, good job on ya first try. Lucky ya could use Kido. But shh, don't use that too often. We the 11****th**** Divisioners hate Kido." And in a lower tone, Ikkaku had added, "Because we can't exactly use it. It doesn't listen ta us."**

**Cheers erupted from the crowd that had gathered to watch the short, but educational fight that had just took place between 3****rd**** and 4****th**** Seat. Most of the crowd was made up of girls of varying appearance. Some were incredibly short, while others were elegantly tall. Their beauty varied too, but none of them seemed to interest me. Although, one of them piqued my attention. Her shock of orange hair was tied up in two ponytails, pointing up to the sky before drooping down on both sides of her head. She had her arms crossed, eyes closed and a sulk on her face. Most of the girls came to watch the two men with a body of lean muscle fight, but apparently this one didn't.**

**When the crowd had cleared, I walked towards her, who was slashing away at a straw dummy with unneeded ferocity. The exhaustion of the fight had cleared away quickly, though I still had not put my robe on. It was a sunny, but windy day. It would be a pity if I missed it, and well, I'll give the ladies a chance to continue ogling at my body. Can't blame me for being gorgeous.**

"**Hey." I tried to make my voice some friendly, but it came out awkwardly.**

**The girl froze, before dropping the wooden sword and turning around, hands on her hips. She was more of the stubbornly cute type, though the saying "If looks could kill" would be appropriate to use, on the glare that she was shooting at me.**

"**What?" she said irritably clearly annoyed. I should of probably waited for her to finish first, before speaking.**

"**Hey, I'm uhm, Kentake Hoshiro from the 11****th****. You are .. ?" A slight smile crossed my face. This girls always, and I mean always, interested me.**

"**I didn't ask for your name! Well, I'm Ai Etsu." She said, still in that voice that told me "You annoyed me. You'll pay."**

"**So .. What division are ya from?" I ran a hand through my hair, trying to keep casual. **

"**Are you 11****th**** Division-ers getting too much sun? Or are you simply blind to not notice the emblem on my shoulder? It says 4****th****, idiot. Need me to spell it out for ya? F-O-U-R-T-H." the last few alphabets were emphasized greatly, as if I was some kid with a learning disability.**

**Now, if it was a joke, I would probably have laughed. But what was the problem with her? The tone she used told me that it wasn't a joke, obviously. It was meant as an insult to my division for being battle-crazed maniacs. I knew that the 4****th**** Division members were always bullied by those from the 11****th****, but she was taking this too far. She was being obnoxious, stereotypical and bitchy. Especially bitchy.**

"**Well, I just wanted to say hello, Miss Ai Etsu. There was no need to be so rude." I responded coolly, though a tinge of annoyance could be heard in my words. **

"**You've said your hellos. Now you can leave. Leave." She said this loudly, drawing the attention of those all around to look at us. It was if she was giving me a challenge, like "Are you man enough to continue?". **

**Blood pounding in my head, hot-headed me shot back at her, "You don't own this place, why should I leave?" In order to add insult to injury, I drew my sword and cut the dummy she was practicing on with a casual swipe. The art of Quick-Draw enabled my sword to shoot out and return to its sheath in the blink of an eye. I placed my hands at my hips, miming her and giving her a defiant look.**

**Ai had quickly overcome her shock of getting the dummy sliced in half, and fired at me. Though much shorter, she stood on her tiptoes to give me the effect that she was fierce. Very fierce. "WELL, I DON'T OWN THIS PLACE BUT I BOOKED IT FOR MY DIVISION TODAY. SO IF YOU DON'T LISTEN I'LL HAVE TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE AREA. FORCEFULLY." **

"**I'd like to see you try, shortie."**

**Those words did it. It wiped the smile off the smug little bitch's face, and it was replaced by a look of anger – And pure hatred. She was shivering now, rather comically, if not for the fact that I was in a verbal battle. Without saying a word she had lifted one foot incredibly high, and stomped it down mind.**

**  
"OWWWW!" my cry of pain reverberated throughout the training arena, drawing the stares and giggles of the crowd. The girl was dragged away by her friends, though she struggled greatly in their grasp. **

**I hopped around in a small circle, both hands grabbing onto my foot. Who knew that shortie could have so much strength? Well, short people tended to have more strength, or so he heard from Ikkaku Madarame, amidst giggles as he explained the hate between the 11****th**** and 4****th****.**

"**Well, the 11****th**** hates them for being weak. Not me, personally, but from the 6****th**** Seat onwards they hate 'em. Don't know why. The 4****th**** hates us for bullying them. It's a natural cycle since the start of the 13 Divisions. Pay no heed."**

**Well, I didn't know what was the problem with Ai, but somehow, there was a slight attraction that pulled me to her. Never would I know that it was the start of a love-hate relationship. **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

"**There has been much Hollow activity in the countryside of Japan at the moment, thus we would like a team of shinigami to check it out."**

**The administrator for the 1****st**** Division stood in front of us, reading out from a scroll sent down by the Commander-General himself. Of course, the Commander-General was too important to issue such trivial missions directly, thus he usually called upon an administrator to do the work for him. **

**The administrator began shouting off a list of names, most of which involved personnel from the 11****th**** Division, and a small group from the 4****th****. It was a masterstroke from the Commander-General. It was extremely obvious that the hotheaded 11****th**** Division-ers were more than likely to get hurt if any battle happened, and by keeping the group of healers small it also helped in reducing casualties. Even if the healers were wiped out, the battle-hardened fighters had a 0% possibility of stopping after a few wounds. For the 11****th**** Division, wounds just made the fight more fun.**

**What struck me wasn't the nature of this mission. I enjoyed fighting like the rest of my friends in the division, but because that stupid bitch (Refer to the end of Chapter 2) was coming too! No doubt we needed a healer, but why couldn't they send someone else?!**

**Immediately, I had went to speak with the Administrator, who had calmly replied without looking up from his documents. "No, we cannot send someone else. She's one of the best we have. Guess you'll have to live with it." From then on, I knew that my arguments were futile. The administrators were not only misers, but people that hardly changed their minds once they decided. **

"**You'll be setting off tomorrow. Run along now, I'm sure you've got things to pack." Were the last words the administrator said to me, before I was ushered out of the room.**

**I was already packed, with my haversack of essentials lying on my bed in my quarters. There wasn't much I could do now, except pray that everything would go well and we wouldn't be delayed. I couldn't stand a week with that obnoxious woman in the human world. **

**  
The next morning, we were all set and ready to go. Each of us had bid their farewells to families and friends. Many of us knew that the life of a shinigami was dangerous. We never knew when we might get eaten up by a Hollow, or when we might die in battle. Tears were shed, and arms were waved, then we were off! **

**The hooded members of the Kido Corps stood on both sides of a portal, uttering eerie chants that radiated with power, making the air seem tangible. The swirling purple portal ahead of us was our ticket to the Human World. Once we step through it, we shall walk into the Human World. As simple as that. **

**Some of us, first-timers (Like me) were hesitant to step into the swirling nebula of energy, but encouragement from our companions gave us the courage to walk in. Upon entry, I felt a tingling sensation along my body, as a light appeared at the end of the swirling energy. My body naturally moved towards the light, propelled by some unknown energy.**

**A few minutes later we landed in the human world, a forest, to be exact. The air was humid there, and you could smell the freshness of the air. My guess was that it was the morning, though we couldn't be sure, since time was different in Soul Society. The forested area was covered in trees, naturally, but everything was alien to me. Everything was just, green. Heck, even the moss-covered rocks were green! There was the sound of wet earth every time we took a step, and the crunch of tree branches and leaves with every step.**

"**Come on, lets investigate and get lost already." Came the chillingly familiar voice. Snotty and overbearing.**

**Oh shit, I thought to myself. Please, please, don't tell me that I've got to deal with that girl already! I slapped a palm to my face as I continued walking forward with the group. No, no. Don't put me in a confrontation with her. I've got to save my strength for those fucking Hollows if we meet any! There's always time for a confrontation after the battles (If there would be any). One of the 11****th**** Division members held a mobile phone-like device in his hand, which was beeping slightly. Simply put, it was a detector for Hollows. It was scanning the area around us for any Hollows. Nothing was showing up on the radar. However, that did not mean that the mission was complete. Despite its high-sensitivity to the spiritual energy of Hollows, it had a small radius of detection.**

**We moved as a group, though there was some sort of contrast. In the front were the big, burly and rough 11****th**** Division-ers, but at the back the small and scrawny healers huddled together, as if it gave them some sense of security to be as one. The only exception was Ai, who was standing behind the group, a few metres away. Her nose was up in the air and her arms were crossed. She was walking slowly in her snotty manner, unwilling to be near the group.**

**I ignored her, and said to the person who was holding the Hollow Detector casually, "Hey, pass that over, will ya?" **

**The shinigami tossed the object over to me, which I caught deftly. The radar still registered nothing, though we have walked quite a long way from our original spot now. It was reported that Hollow activity was seen in this forested area, and we were nearing the boundary now. What the heck happened? The reports were never false.**

**Though, something nagged at me in the back of my mind. The Hollows were seen, but it was never written that they were detected, nor was it written that they were felt. All that the report wrote was that the Hollows were seen. Could it be .. ? **

**A piercing scream interrupted my thoughts from the back of the line, as we heard the guttural cry of a Hollow. The masked monstrosities have attacked! The whole group turned around, and all we saw was Ai lying on the ground, bleeding in one arm. The panther-like Hollow had slashed her across the arm, and the impact had sent her flying. **

**Why hadn't we detected this? Was the detector faulty? Definitely not. We had the 12****th**** check the detector quite a few times already! Unless .. Has the Hollows come up with a way to hide from our detection? There was no time to think. It was time to act. The cry and roar had attracted Hollows from all direction. We had been scammed. Well, scammed was an understatement. The reports wrote that there was "some Hollow activity". But from what we're seeing here, there are dozens of Hollows in the area! **

**A few of the shinigami were snapped up immediately, having their heads or even their entire bodies eaten by the invading Hollows. I drew my sword and slashed through the mask of one, driving it into the ground. Using my blade as a pivot, I spun my body around, kicking into the chests of the surrounding Hollows. **

**We were outnumbered, and struggling. The Hollows had the element of surprise, and they had succeeded on dividing us. A few of us had been eaten in the first wave, and a few others had been killed subsequently. Parrying the claws of a particularly shark-like Hollow, I severed its head from its shoulders with a casual cut while I flipped away to avoid another Hollow's acidic tongue. **

"**Byakurai!"**

**My cry reverberated throughout the forest as a stream of concentrated lightning erupted from my fingertip. I drew my finger through the air, letting the stream of lightning travel in a straight line. A few Hollows were dead upon contact, vanishing in clouds of dark matter, whereas others fell to the floor, groaning in pain and clutching at heavy wounds. **

**A few of the other shinigami had released their swords. Some of them were now clutching axes, larger swords and other unorthodox weapons of unknown origins in their hands, fighting fiercely with the Hollows. For everyone one of them we killed, there seemed to be two others that took its place!**

**It looked bleak for us. We all fought to our best, but none of us could stand against that many. Not without a boost. We were all worn out by the long battle. **

**My strikes were getting weaker, and weaker. Was it the end of the road for me now? I could see my life flashing through my eyes. Sounds corny, but true. My arm went numb, as I parried another blow from a flying Hollow. The force of the strike drove me to the ground, as I was rammed against a tree. The Hollow's claw was raised in a single strike, and it came down. In preparation for the end I closed my eyes. My last sight will not be the sight of my killer. I never imagined such an end for myself. I had always thought my end would not come, as shinigami were ageless. Otherwise, I thought that I would get struck down in battle, by a strong enemy, not a pitiful Hollow like this!**

**I waited for the piercing pain to come, before black oblivion, but it never came. Instead was a metallic clash, and a grunt of exertion. This sound, this voice, was so, so familiar. Obnoxiously familiar. **

**Opening my eyes, I saw Ai in front of me, her sword pushing against the claw of the Hollow whom nearly killed me. Woah. I can't say that I was touched, but it was a nice surprise. The mutual hate between us seems to have evaporated for a moment.**

"**Get off your ass, Kentucky!" she shouted at me, as her head was half-turned.**

**Scrambling off the ground, I realized that the hate between us was still in place, just that she now takes me as a comrade. Standing beside her, I sliced off the arm of the Hollow who was attacking her, and leapt into the air. As I soared up into the sky, a voice entered my mind. Gravelly, just like those lead singers of rock bands.**

_**Kentake.**_

_**Gitamaru?**_

_**Who else?**_

_**Iunno, god?**_

_**Bah. Smartass. Say "Its time to rock."**_

_**What for?**_

_**Just say it, bastard.**_

_**Fine.**_

**When I landed on the ground behind the Hollow, unknowingly my eyes had lit up with a sort of fire. It was not of anger, not of hatred, but of hope. **

"**Its time to rock!"**

**My words rang over the din of the battle, and a sudden explosion of spiritual pressure ensued. A green aura of spiritual energy surrounded me, as my sword began to hover in the air. My arms were at my side, and my head was facing upwards. My blade, then got enveloped in a wave of white light before ..**

**A single note of music tore through the air, and then hopes started to rise. I felt the weariness get chased away from my limbs as my confidence grew. In my hands I felt a familiar object, an electric guitar. My fingers were strumming it repeatedly, as I rocked my body to an unknown melody. The music streamed out of the guitar in all directions as a green light. Throughout the area we could see the wounds on the bodies of the shinigami disappear, as their confidence was renewed. We were outnumbered, but we were confident. Individually we are nothing. Together we are unstoppable.**

**Music notes began to materialize from the guitar, and they flew towards the Hollows. The Hollows were buffeted by streams of musical notes, each of which was worth a decent punch. A stream of energy flew past me, and I felt a rise in the spiritual pressure too. An orange blur zipped past my body, as I felt the familiar reiatsu of Ai rise. Has she discovered her Initial Release too?**

**I brought my mind back to music as it filled my body with hope and power. The music kept me fresh and untiring. Perhaps it was the effects of the music, perhaps it was the thrill and adrenaline rush of releasing. I didn't know, nor did I care.**

"**Hey, Kentucky. Guess who released too?" **

**Ai blurred right in front of me, as she wielded two revolvers in her hands. She was firing beams of energy from the revolvers, destroying a Hollow in a single shot. Our numbers had dwindled down to half a dozen, but all of them had received a physical boost from my music.**

**The Hollows were made short work of, both by energy bullets and constant streams of musical notes, not to mention swords. **

"**Heh, nice music, I've got ta admit." Ai said, with a grin on her face as she continued to fire constant streams of energy into the fray. The Initial Release too, provided her in a change of uniform. From the standard shinigami uniform, she was now in an orange jumpsuit that matched her hair. There were two shield located on her arms, to protect her sides while she fired. Two jetpacks were lined along her shoulder blades, and I was jealous. Sure, I got something I liked, but why couldn't I get something cooler like her?**

"**Nice suit. Brings out your shape pretty well." I said mockingly.**

**I had to duck, and stop playing music for a moment as a beam of energy scorched my sideburns. What the heck was she playing at? She could of blown my head off, and we would of lost the edge. **

**When the last Hollow was struck down, both of us collapsed to the ground. The energy left us, as our Initial Releases were resealed. I soon felt dizzy, most likely from the effects of overusing my powers. I had heard that it was a common thing among people who just attained their Initial Release. They end up not knowing their limits and crossing it, though it could not be felt in that form.**

**All I saw was an inky darkness before the dizziness overcame me, and I fell into unconsciousness beside my arch-nemesis, and now comrade – Ai Etsu.**


End file.
